Italian Chamomile

once upon a time i bought this tea from the grocery store.
i was new to tea.
i did not like it very much.
i thought i did not like tea,
but the punch line is that i just don’t like chamomile and didn’t know any better.

Italian Chamomile / Tranquil Dreams (Teavana)

Excellent Blend for nighttime relaxation!!

I do not like licorice root in teas, I think it overpowers the entire cup making it taste too sweet almost to a nauseous point. >.< I was a bit disappointed in this one, considering I usually love chamomile teas. But as for itialian chamomile I’ll pass.

I threw this into the teapot tonight because I’m trying to use up some of my bagged teas before payday – when I can actually build up my loose leaf collection. I’ve learned from experience that to enjoy Zhena’s tea I need to use two teabags, so I threw those into my 2-cup teapot and let them steep.

This particular batch is a little syrupy, but that’s probably because I ran out of Sugar in the Raw and lost count of of the sugar cubes I had to use instead. I’m glad I decided to use two bags, as this is still pretty light-tasting. The camomile is the strongest, but a faint licorice aftertaste follows in its sway.

All in all, I’m glad I pulled this down from the shelf. It’s been a hectic day – the end of the school year is upon us, and my seniors are all going a little crazy about graduation. But now most the papers are graded and I was even able to leave the rest at school. This cup is a fantastic transition for me – a sweet reminder that part of the day is over, and now it’s time to cuddle with the cats (Akasha and Mei-Mei – we’re nerds!) and curl up with a book. An unheard of luxury during the school year!

That’s no light task, and I’m impressed this tea managed to pull it off!

Tastes of chamomile and a hint of hibiscus. But mostly chamomile. Maybe a faint mint in there. Licorice, but I think I usually get a little hint of licorice with any chamomile. Nice flavor, very smooth. Not totally outstanding though, but a nice wind down kind of tea for the end of the day.

I’m not sure about this. It is such a strong chamomile and the appeal of chamomile is usually its mellowness. It tastes exactly how it smells: like an herb garden. I suppose chamomile and fennel are the dominant flavors. Very spicy and it kind of burns my tongue.

EDIT: Scratch all that! I figured it out. Celery! It tastes exactly like celery.

Aroma: Light lemon, fennel seed, licorice and a little Chamomile; actually quite soothing.

Taste: The longer it steeps, the stronger the lemon, fennel and licorice become especially the fennel and licorice…not too off putting but the cuppa does become a savory-sweet; I know this sounds of an oxymoron but true. This is a soothing, relaxing cuppa for the evening or before bedtime, but personally, I would stick to straight-up Chamomile tea if you are looking for a Chamomile tea, honestly, there are better out there to be had.

Aftertaste: Sweet fennel, licorice, slight Chamomile…a little strong but not if you take out the tea sachet when properly steeped…I like my tea strong so I keep mine in the whole duration of enjoying my cuppa.

It is a nice tea for unwinding in the evening or before bed…a little sweet but nice.

Very pleasant tasting chamomile tea that could be drunk at any time, but certainly works before bed. It has that rose note in common in many of Zhena’s teas.